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Ron and Phyllis

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Posts posted by Ron and Phyllis

  1. Last weekend we went to Art in the Park at Blowing Rock NC as we do every year, but normally it was in May, June, or October in our Aliner pop-up at Julian Price CG on the BRP.   This time we decided to try July in our almost 1yr old Elite I (Hull #1209).  We caught the peak of the Catawba Rhododendron bloom. We were in the clouds, a good bit of the time but 10-15 degrees cooler than the 90 degrees when we left home in East TN just 90mi, a couple or hours away.  

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  2. 6 hours ago, MAX Burner said:

    Very cool mods @Ron and Phyllis!  Especially like your rear cargo arrangement.  Can you give a link to the rear platform for the storage box, pls?  Thanks, brother!

    Gladly, If you use the Maxxhaul 70422 Aluminum Cargo Carrier, it looks like the support connector fits a 2" hitch.  That's what I see on most of the carriers, so you'll need an adapter for the 1.25 on the Ollie.  I happened to have another carrier ( Apex ACC2-4820 Metallic Aluminum Cargo Carrier) that came with two supports for either 2" or 1.25". I used the Apex 1.25" support on the Maxxhaul carrier as it fit perfectly.  In a short search I don't see the Apex currently  available.  The box fits in either.  I think it's important to use some very large washers or plates in the floor of box when mounting to prevent cracking.  Now that I've used this for several trips, I think I'm going to add a small support chain inside connected to the lid to prevent it from going so far back when it's opened. All the other premade carriers I saw online were too heavy for the Oliver rear hitch or just didn't allow practically any cargo because of their weight. I uploaded screenshots of the box and MaxxHaul and hope you can open as I'm not sure how effectively I navigate around this forum.  Hope it's all ok.

    Ron

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    • Thanks 4
  3. I’m still new to our Elite “Li’l Ollie” #1209.  Thanks to all of you for sharing. With all the wise and technical information posted, I feel a little intimidated about posting much of anything.  I’m sure I’m not alone. Here’s a few things I’ve done to make things a little easier on our travels so far.

    Rear Storage Carrier

    Since storage on the Elite is so limited and since my tow vehicle is a Subaru Ascent, not a truck, I’ve adapted some ideas I’ve seen on the forum that seem to be working well. I mounted a Rubbermaid ActionPacker 48 Gal using aluminum plates in the bottom and bolted it to a MaxxHaul 70422 48”x 21” Hitch Mount Cargo Carrier.  Together they weigh a total of 43 lbs allowing me to carry a little over 100 lbs and be under the 150 maximum for the hitch. I also measured how far I could slide out the carrier and get the spare tire out without removing the carrier. I drilled a couple of extra holes in the hitch that allows me to slide in a retention bolt on each side to prevent the slid out assembly from falling in case I have to slide it out on the road.  I did have to remount the license plate and a light that required extending the wiring.

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    I also made some water/UV resistant canvas covers to protect the rear cabinet, jack, and front box where I carry my portable tank, mainly to protect the plastic from the UV. 

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    Interior Clothes Cabinet:

    Since I’m a caregiver, I need to make it as easy as possible for me to easily access my wife’s clothes.  We have found that the single bed across the back works best for us in our situation, that I can leave up all the time.  I set up and take down my side bed.  We don’t need the large dinette, so I made a smaller version to support her bed and it frees up floor space. We were storing clothes in bins below the bed having to slide them in and out.  I decided to build a small cabinet that would allow us to easily access her clothes. It also serves as an extra countertop. I can pick up the cabinet for travel and set it on the floor.  I learned from other posts on this forum, that by setting things on shelf liners on the floor that nothing moves during travel. I’ve found that in the evening I can set up the fiberglass extention Oliver provided and use it like an ottoman.  With all the pillows it’s pretty cozy watching TV.  This wouldn’t work for tall people, but my wife is tiny and I'm fine sleeping on the side bed. I think most of you tall folks have the Elite II anyway. 

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    • Like 7
  4. Door Lock problems

    From the time I took delivery of my 2022 Elite #1209, the door has been difficult to latch.  It required too much force, especially for my wife.  I always lock it when we travel.  On two trips the door popped open.  On inspection the latch bolt barely engaged the strike plate.  I adjusted the strike plate sideways but could still jerk the door open.  To resolve the problem I had to grind out the opening in the aluminum door frame further and the horizontal screw hole openings in the strike plate allowing me to slide the strike plate further.  This solved the problem with the latch bolt. It never occurred to me to check the deadbolt as I just assumed it was engaging.  One evening I just locked the deadbolt and then easily pushed the door open.  When home, I placed a small amount of white paint on the end of the dead bolt latch and locked it.  As I expected, the dead bolt latch did not engage the strike place opening.   In fact, dead bolt was hitting the metal on the strike plate and not functioning at all. I could not reposition the strike plate because of the position of the opening in the doorframe.  I cut a square opening in the bottom of the opening in the strike plate and used the paint a time or two to insure that the dead bolt fully engaged the opening and no longer hit the strike plate. I could immediately tell that the deadbolt latch was in the opening and the door firmly locked. It was obvious that either the wrong strike plate was used at the factory or that they positioned it too high so both the latch bolt and deadbolt could not both go into the same opening. 

    The photos show the paint marker on the end of the deadbolt latch, where it struck the strike plate, the square opening I had to cut into the strike plate to get the deadbolt to work properly.  I advise, especially new owners, to take a close look at the position of the door strike plate and insure that both bolts are engaging.

    Happy travels,

    Ron Williams

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  5. 2 hours ago, topgun2 said:

    Have you tried polishing those black spots?  Have you sent these pics to Oliver Service?

    I too use dehumidifiers in my Ollie while stored.  I do take my single mattress out for the Winter but I leave the regular cushions in.  They are stored in a vertical position though just to make sure that air gets a chance to circulate around them. 

    Bill

    p.s.  Really wish I had an Ollie port like you and Patriot.

    I don't think they will polish out.  Due to the pattern, I suspect a gelcoat that is too thin and ScubaRx agrees. I had the Ollie port built early this summer before delivery.  I leveled the site and poured concrete pads and the crew bolted it into the pads.  It's from a company called MaxSteel.  I was pleased with the end result and process. My site space was limited due to the metal building that is beside it and where it is all situated.  Their cost for the port and installation was $3,300. I may close in the back with metal myself. I left one side somewhat open because it faces a lean to roof line where I store my firewood. 

    • Like 2
  6. 1 hour ago, johnwen said:

    We had the same problem with our roof on our Elite2 when we picked it up back in January.  We didn't have a chance to look at the roof since we had to get out of town for an approaching winter storm.  I told Jason about it but did not open a ticket.  We've not had any leaks ... knock on wood 🙂

    John

    👍

  7. As I have washed and waxed Hull # 1209 Elite I, I inspected the roof and discovered an area that measures approximately 8 x 10 inches that is very rough and it appears that the clearcoat finish is just too thin.  I think I am seeing the underlying fiberglas.  My delivery was Aug 11 and I did not look at the roof.  I remember a discussion about caulking just after this.  My caulking in visible areas is excellent but it's very obvious that the same care was not taken on the roof.  I could have done a much better job myself.  My question though is about the clearcoat.  Should I have this corrected.  I'm attaching photos.  The darkness is not dirt, it will not wash off.  

    Also I am storing Li'l Ollie for the winter in a carport type shed that I had built.  It's well covered but open on the ends.  I planned to keep electricity to the unit (AGM'S) and a dehumidifier running inside.   My question is about the cushions.  I always removed my cushions from my A-frame popup and stored them indoors to prevent rodent or insect (ant) damage if not used even for a few weeks.  Thoughts, advice.

    Thanks,

    Ron

     

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  8. We're going to be at Huntington Beach SP next week Oct 30-Nov 4.  We want to go north to Wilmington for 2-3 days to visit some old dear friends.  We've been there previously several times, but never camped.  I've found several campground/RV parks around Hampstead, Topsail, Surf City. Can anyone recommend one? I'm trying to stay within a 30 min drive of their place in NE Wilmington.  

  9. Thanks to Landrover's  recommendation, I used his friend Bob Hardbarger to develop graphics for Li'l Ollie.  I emailed him some artwork of the TN flag and some of our East TN/ Western NC mountain scenes and he combined. He was very reasonable, as I have had logos developed and graphics for my previous business.  He got the larger graphic to me just before my August 11 delivery and the young lady at Oliver, who applies their graphics, put it on for me during her lunch hour, and showed me how to apply the Hull number that I had him do later.   I understand that he is retired but continues to do some work. 

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    • Like 3
  10. 5 hours ago, leo said:

    I have LT tires on our Elite I, and run at 70psi.  I've got no deep knowledge on the tires, I run at 70psi based on past info from this forum. 
    We've only owned ours for 1 1/2 years so we're running on the tires put on by the previous owner (Michelin LTX).  We've had no problems at 
    all, but no rough road traveling (lots of back highways if possible).  And we're still weekend only unfortunately, looking forward to some longer trips.

    Might consider the ST tires when we have to change, but that'll be another year or more I think.

    And @Ron and Phyllis, glad to have some other Elite I owners around.

    👍

  11. 3 minutes ago, hobo said:

    I agree with topgun2;  it's so easy to winterize, why go through the steps suggested above but still worry that you didn't do it right?  Just spend the 45 minutes and a couple gals of anti-freeze and sleep comfortably not worrying.

    I appreciate that the odds are you'll be fine, but why take a chance?

     

    I agree

  12. 10 minutes ago, topgun2 said:

    By the way - 

    If the weather forecast changes calling for even lower temps - the regular winterization process really doesn't take very long. to either complete or to reverse.  Yes, it will cost two or three gallons of anti-freeze, but, if there is any question regarding the temps then it is far cheaper to pay for the anti-freeze as compared to the cost of replacing a shower assembly, external fittings and/or anti-siphon valves (mostly found just inboard of the exterior fittings).

    Bill

    I promise I'll stop after this.  I agree on the anti-freeze.  I was just thinking about in the future insulating like you did.  By fittings, I mean all the connections especially in the compartments that house the hot water heater, pump, on galley side.  Some of these don't seems to lend themselves to the foam.  I was just wondering if you felt it was necessary to address these areas by stuffing insulation around them. Thanks for taking the time 

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  13. 5 minutes ago, topgun2 said:

    Went down to Lowe's and got a number pieces of 1/2 inch foam pipe insulation like THIS.

    For that outside shower insulation - if you don't have some regular fiberglass insulation laying around then you can simply use a couple of old rags.

    Bill

    Understand, I've used before.  I've got plenty of the fiberglass around. Did you stuff any around fittings?

  14. 49 minutes ago, topgun2 said:

    Except for the 26 degree night (unless your weather forecasters are like our - i.e. not worth a darn) I'd would not do a thing.  For that 26 degree night I'd make sure that my kitchen drawers were open (warmer air to the kitchen faucet). and the access hatches to the basement area were open and the closet door open as well as the bathroom door.  Finally, you might place a small wad of insulation in the outside sower door and pour a 1/2 cup of RV anti-freeze in each of the drains (Bath sink, Kitchen sink and don't forget the shower drain) .  All of this is to make sure that you get some warm(er) air into the areas where the pipes are. 

    In my case, I've put pipe insulation on all pipes that I can get to so I'm really not concerned until things get down below the middle 20's for short periods of time.

    On a side note - you might want to PM Patriot about restaurants and other details concerning HBSP given that he just returned from there.

    Bill

    Sound advice, thanks Bill.  What type of pipe insulation did you use? Did you wrap them or did you just stuff insulation around them or both? 

    • Like 2
  15. Hey folks, I need some advice. I have an Elite I "Li'l Ollie" Hull #1209 in Upper East TN.  In two weeks we will be at Huntington Beach SP for a week. Nighttime temps there will be in the 50's.  My issue is that we're going to have 2-3 cold nights here at home 28-30 degrees then warm up to upper 30's & 40's at night and long range says maybe a dip to 26 one night over these next two weeks.  I have the Ollie in a metal covered shed not heated but with electric.  I was hoping to delay winterizing until I return to avoid winterizing and having to drain the antifreeze when on this trip and winterizing again.   I was going to run a small ceramic heater while stored here that we use when we camp with electric that works well and open up the compartments to expose pipes as much as possible.  I had also thought I might get a couple of pipe heat strips if needed. What are your thoughts, what would you do?

    Ron

  16. 12 hours ago, topgun2 said:

    Many of these "locking mechanisms" are adjustable as to the length of the rod that holds the metal tab which slides onto that thicker block you installed.  Pictures certainly would help us determine if this could be done in your case.

    Bill

    Thanks Bill, I will check tomorrow to see if an adjustment could have been done, instead of my thicker block remedy and reply if it could save someone some extra effort.  

    Ron

  17. I will be interested in seeing what you end up doing.  We may go back and forth varying according to the situation.  My wife has a neurocognitive disorder and often needs help when she gets up finding a light or if she wakes up and is confused or uncomfortable.  I had hoped we might not wake each other as much with the bed across the back.  Right now, it's not the case.  I'm hoping this may change in time.  We just got back from a couple of cold nights 29 and 32 degrees on top of Mt Pisgah NC on the Blue Ridge Pky.  I decided, since we had no hookups and it is shaded and we needed to conserve batteries, that we would use the full bed.  It worked well.  I still like to lounge on the lowered side table down with the pillows to read or watch tv.  We'll see.  Just a comment, even with mostly shade, our batteries charged enough from the solar panels to run the fan on the furnace that I set at 60-62, use the water pump, and we used lights sparingly.  We might have done ok one more day. I have a movable solar array also, but I could not get it to charge when plugged into the Zamp outlet.  I'll have to work on this.  

    On a previous trip, I had an issue with the battery door coming open 45 minutes down the road.  A block on the door that attaches to a cable broke when it flew open from road vibration.  The door would not stay closed.   I had to tie the door shut until I could get home and repair. When home, on further inspection, I found the locking mechanism would not properly engage a nylon block mounted in the roof of the compartment.  I removed the block and made it thicker by adding an aluminum plate to give more for the locking mechanism to strike against. Plus, the aluminum wouldn't score from the metal locking arm like the soft nylon.   I opened a service ticket and Oliver sent me replacement blocks for the door and the roof.  The nylon roof block was still just too thin so I used my thicker block with the aluminum plate.  I think this means that either the door is just a little off or maybe the locking mechanism.  I made some photos that I might post.  It works fine now with my repair.  I met an Elite II owner on that trip and showed him the broken blocks.  We looked at his 2017 battery compartment and the roof block was made of solid aluminum instead of the nylon block in mine.  

    Good luck on your delivery and I hope to hear from you again.

    Ron Williams

    • Like 4
  18. 46 minutes ago, topgun2 said:

    There should be some nice "Fall leaf color" up on the Parkway starting this week (October 4th).  And, the weather forecast is for nice sunny days with cool nights - mid 30's probably upon the Parkway at over 6,000 feet.

    I'm only about 20 miles from the Pisgah camp ground -  if you need something send me a PM.

    Bill

    Thank you all! This is what I wanted to know.  Years ago, when we got snowed on at Mt Pisgah in the old popup, we were fine.  Now, my wife is not quite the camper of those old days, so I have to consider her comfort a little more. We keep our winter home thermostat usually on 65 and we don't mind layering up.  We were up on the BRP last week at Mountain River CG and fall color was very noticable but now for sure, it's here even in Greene Co.Thanks again!

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